Camp Panem
by BreadBoy
Summary: A blizzard strikes and Katniss retreats to the peaceful Camp Panem with Gale. But as peaceful as the camp is, there is a spark lit in the counties. President Snow has seemed to have gone missing. Whispers of rebellion and war against Snow. With the insight of Plutarch, Katniss Everdeen will spark the manhunt. But where is Snow? And what is the barricade of children?
1. I: Tragedy Strikes

**Camp Panem**

**This is to replace a deleted story, hopefully this will turn out okay.**

Chapter 1'

Katniss's POV:

****I've had four years of high school. Four years of Gale and stupid girls. Four years of waiting for college.

Gale's been to Camp Panem a bunch of times. I've been there zero times. Camp Panem is a summer camp in the woods. Gale's been counseling there for forever, so he said I might like it. It was a day after New Years, in January, and we were freezing it was snowing regularly outside, and I was curled up with Prim on the couch, watching TV and sipping cocoa. It was so cold I had to wear a winter coat and ski pants inside even though the heater was on.

Suddenly a bright warning popped onto the screen.

"Warning! Breaking news! If you live in Market County, a blizzard is coming your way! Jim Carter will shortly be informing you to help prepare for the-"

_Pop._

Just like that, the power went out.

Everything happened so fast. The windows broke in, The roof started to make crackling noises. Someone knocked the door.

I opened it up. Gale, struggling to stay standing.

"Katniss! Camp Panem is opening right now as a shelter, but you gotta leave your family! Mr. Snow is only letting the counselors in!" Gale shouted.

"I can't leave Prim!" I screamed over the wind.

"Yes you can!" Gale screamed back.

"Can we do something to keep them safe until the storm's over?" I yelled.

"I don't know! Katniss, we have to go! Pack your bags!" Gale cried. I ran up the stairs and threw clothes into a suitcase and ran down the stairs, rounding up Mom and Prim.

"We can't take them, Katniss!" Gale hollered.

"Keep them in the hovercraft until it's over!" I barked. Gale gave me a sad look. He whipped me up into his arms and he went charging into the hovercraft before I could try to break out of his grasp.

And I was off to Camp Panem.

Just like that.


	2. II: Sharing

**Camp Panem**

**This is to replace a deleted story, hopefully this will turn out okay.**

**Chapter 2**

**Katniss's POV:**

I woke up in the warm hovercraft, my head on Gale's shoulder. I didn't intend for it to be there, but it was. I took in my surroundings; I've never been in a hovercraft before. It was dim and a small hum was heard throughout the vehicle. There were no windows, but a variety of tubes and wires lining the walls and ceiling, and plain black rubber dotted flooring was installed under my feet. Soon, I felt the thrill of landing, kind of like an elevator going down, expect when you hit your floor; the loudest noise you've ever heard.

One of the walls went up like a garage door, and bright sunlight poured into the chamber. About a dozen college or high-school kids stood around, bundled up in winter coats. I tugged on one of the tassels of my knit trapper hat. There were a bunch of guys.

And none of them looked bad.

Gale got up first and offered me his hand. I didn't take it.

"Let's hope Prim's alive," I snapped.

I trudged out to the two-foot snow. It snowed a lot, but it wasn't still snowing, so it was okay. An official-looking old man with a beard that blended in with the snow nodded at Gale.

"Gale, my boy. Great to see you back," the man smiled heartily. Man Number Two just made a gruff noise in direction of Gale.

Man Number One then offered me his hand to shake.

"Hi, you must be Katniss Everdeen. It's great to meet you. I'm Coriolanus Snow. Call me Mr. Snow. If you have any questions, just ask me. I run the place," I shook his hand. He smiled and nodded, one of those I'm-a-gentleman-and-I-know-it s gestures. Man Number Two was younger, and half-tipping over. He gave me an artificial smile.

"This is my, er, business partner, Haymitch-"

"_ABERNATHY_!" Haymitch yelled. A couple people smirked.

"...But you call him Haymitch. He's in charge of you guys. Ms. Everdeen, right now, everyone gets a whole cabin to themselves. But you must understand that's only until the campers arrive in the summer. In your area, school is cancelled for the rest of the year, so don't worry about that. You'll be in the last cabin, Cabin Twelve," Mr. Snow explained.

I nodded and turned to the rest of the counselors.

"Hi," I said shyly. I saw a curvy blonde girl holding a cheap silver skinny bow and a silver quiver slung over her shoulder. She was only wearing a tight black jumpsuit, over-the-knee glossy black heeled boots, and an oversized, black glossy belt buckled loosely on her hips strictly for fashion purposes. I hated this girl already.

One, because she was obviously trying to hard to look cool, and two, because she obviously did archery.

I was the queen of archery.

So we'd see who's better...

"I'm Katniss," I started. But a huge rumble started to make the snow vibrate, and we saw another hovercraft landing onto the snow. Mr. Snow looked unprepared. He and Haymitch started muttering to each other, glancing at the hovercraft and glancing at me.

Me.

The hovercraft's door opened, and a boy walked out. He had blonde hair, stunning blue eyes, and a huge jaw.

If I was gonna fall for anyone, I wanted it to be him.

But I was here to work; not meet some guy I'd have to break up with at the end of the summer...but nevertheless, I stared at him. It was strange, because he seemed to be staring right back at me. The intensity of his bright eyes on mine was lingering for a second too many, so right when I was about to look away, he smiled. It was a smile that made my stomach tie up into knots. I blushed furiously and fiddled with the end of my braid.

Mr. Snow swallowed hard.

"You must be Peeta Mellark, yes?"

Peeta Mellark. I might as well know his name.

"Peeta, I've made a miscalculation. I've assigned every counselor to a cabin, but it looks like someone will have to share," Mr. Snow raised his eyebrows. "I'll assign you to Cabin Twelve. It's the largest."

My eyes widened. Gale glared at Peeta too. He was so protective of me sometimes...

I looked away.

I was going to be practically living with this guy for almost a year.


	3. III: Comfort

**Chapter 3**

**Peeta's POV:**

When I got here, I didn't know that I'd be rooming with a girl; especially a girl I had an instant crush on the second she laid her crisp gray eyes on me. She started to roll her suitcase in direction of Cabin Twelve, and I had no idea where it was, so I trailed after her. But I took notice of a guy watching her go knowingly, a guy that was taller and stronger. She was taken.

I got in and felt a burst of warm air, so I started to unwind myself free of scarves and whatnot. I had no idea why a summer camp cabin would have heating, but this Mr. Snow guy owned two hovercrafts, so I wasn't going to question it. I stuck my hand out towards the girl.

"Hi, I'm Peeta Mellark," I smiled. She looked at my hand for a moment and shook it. Her hand was small and delicate, but it was strong.

"Katniss Everdeen," Katniss replied.

Suddenly, a robotic voice rang through the cabin.

_'Hello, Camp Panem Counselors! I'm Effie Trinket. I'm sorry I couldn't meet all of you at the arrival, but we'll meet very, very soon! It's been a big, big day! Mr. Snow here recommends all of you to rest. If you have any questions, you can visit me in the Directors' Office by the Snow Mansion! Bye-bye, now!" _

The line went dead. I watched Katniss slip into bed, but her eyes were still open. I did the same, but I couldn't sleep. After a while, I was sure Katniss was asleep.

"So, did you come with anyone?" Katniss asked. Her voice took me by surprise.

"Um, no," I answered.

"I came with Gale. He's my best friend," Katniss said. "So have you been here before?"

"Nah," I shrugged. I was starting to get more comfortable with her. And the guy looking at her was hopefully Gale, the best _friend_. "This is my first year."

"Me too. Gale dragged me here. And he didn't let me bring-" Katniss stopped herself. I decided to push her about it. It was obviously a sensitive topic. I glanced over to her bunk. She was biting back tears.

"Katniss?" I started to get out of bed. Katniss just shook her head as the first tear started to roll down her cheek. "Katniss, it's okay."

"It's not," she whispered. I didn't even know what we were talking about, but I knew this was the part where I comfort her. So I took a small step closer to her.

"Katniss, what happened?" I asked gently. Her bottom lip started to quiver. My eyes grew wide and I stopped. "Sorry, you don't have to tell me if you don't-"

"I want to," Katniss mumbled. "Gale carried me away from the storm. He made me…he made me leave…" Katniss's mouth twitched again. "_Prim!" _I was still clueless, so I just scooted closer and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She leaned her head on my shoulder and cried. My shirt got wet, but nobody cared. After a long while, Katniss stopped crying, and fell asleep right there, sitting up. I carefully laid her down and crept back to my own bed. I woke up to the sound of Katniss moaning. I thought she was in pain, but she was still sleeping, so I didn't know what to do. I ended up creeping up again and shaking her to end her misery in that horrible dream. She bolted upright and started breathing heavily, staring blankly into the darkness, her pupils wide.

"Prim," she muttered. "Primrose. Prim!" I wrapped my arm around her once again, and she cried into my shoulder. Again. She stopped crying, so I stood up to go, but she grabbed my wrist.

"Don't leave," Katniss muttered. I didn't even know this girl yet, and she wanted me to stay with her. So I held her. She seemed to grow right into me.

We didn't sleep.


	4. IV: The Old Counselors

**Camp Panem**

**Chapter FOUR**

**Peeta's POV:**

I woke up with Katniss Everdeen still in my arms.

She was gently snoring on my shoulder, and it was impossibly cute. Her long, dark lashes looked gentle, and her smooth face was relaxed. Her soft lips were parted slightly. I made it my goal this year to kiss those lips. If I don't kiss those lips, I don't know what will happen. But I'm telling you, I _will _kiss those lips.

It felt like the right thing to do to kiss her forehead. I wanted to. I was about to, because, after all, she was asleep. But I didn't because I only knew this girl existed yesterday, and she was sleeping on me, and I was already thinking of kissing her. So if I added one more thing on top of _that_, you would be allowed to call me insane.

I kept staring at her, but it shattered when I heard knocking on the door. I realized that today the counselors were being assigned jobs! Then the door busted open. It was that guy. That tall guy with the tannish skin and the muscles and the jet-black hair and the really handsome everything. He glared at me. He looked like he was going to kill me.

"Who the FUCK are you? And what the FUCK are you DOING?!" He screamed at me. Katniss woke up. She gasped when she saw the guy.

"Gale!" she said quickly.

_Gale._

"Let's go, Katniss," Gale spat and reached for Katniss. She held on to me.

"No. Gale, this is Peeta. He didn't do anything. I made him do this," Katniss defended. "Stop being so accusing. And stop being so overprotective. You're not my..." she stopped. Gale sighed. He took a step forward and hugged Katniss. I felt awkward watching all of this. Katniss broke away and muttered to him. He looked at her one last time and finally left.

Now I had to get ready for this counselor meeting.

**Katniss's POV:**

I pulled a sweatshirt on and turned to take a glance at Peeta. His back was turned on me and he didn't have a shirt on. I got uncomfortable (or too overwhelmed) and left the cabin. I started to trudge out to the snow, even though I didn't have a clue where I had to go. Thankfully, Peeta was runnning up to me and showed me the way. We found ourselves in what looked like the cafeteria. All the other counselors, Effie Trinket, Haymitch, and Mr. Snow were waiting.

"I think that's all of 'em." Mr. Snow informed the other two.

"Oh! _Two_ counselors! Two _ladies!_ What do we do, Coriolanus?" Effie turned to the boss.

"Simple. One of you can't teach archery," Mr. Snow said flatly. "Glimmer, you've been the archery instructor for years past. It would be fair if you let Katniss try."

Glimmer, I think her name is (such a stupid name), looked frozen. She obviously didn't want to argue with the owner of the camp.

"Um…I have more experience, Mr. Snow. I know most of the campers," Glimmer said.

I shouldn't have opened my mouth. But I did. And I messed everything up.

"Let's hold a contest," I said loudly. My hands flew to cover my mouth, ensuring no more stupidity. Mr. Snow looked at me, with an impressed kinda look on his face.

"Very well. Contest on archery grounds directly after lunch. All are required to come," Mr. Snow announced.

"All of us?" Haymitch moaned. "I don't want-"

"_All of you._" Mr. Snow repeated. "And listen to Effie." Mr. Snow left. Haymitch collapsed on the floor. Effie wrinkled her nose and turned to us.

"You should all get to know each other, and get to know you way around Camp Panem.

"Then let's get started!" Effie chirped. "Who would like to be in charge of generally all of the sports?"

A blonde hunk raised his hand. "Oh, Cato darling. Of course," Effie smiled and scribbled on her clipboard. _Cato._ I looked at him. He was staring at me. I quickly turned around and faced Effie again. His gaze was intense, his blue eyes like Peeta's.

"Art?" Peeta raised his hand. I didn't know Peeta liked art. This went on and on, and none of the classes really interested me. I kinda perked up when she said Nature Studies and Hiking, but Gale already had his hand raised, and I figured he'd be a better teacher.

"Archery." My hand raised, but that blonde black-jumpsuit chick had hers too. She glared at me.

"Oh! _Two_ counselors! Two _ladies!_ What do we do, Coriolanus?" Effie turned to the boss.

"Simple. One of you can't teach archery," Mr. Snow said flatly. "Glimmer, you've been the archery instructor for years past. It would be fair if you let Katniss try."

Glimmer, I think her name is (such a stupid name), looked frozen. She obviously didn't want to argue with the owner of the camp.

"Um…I have more experience, Mr. Snow. I know most of the campers," Glimmer said.

I shouldn't have opened my mouth. But I did. And I messed everything up.

"Let's hold a contest," I said loudly. My hands flew to cover my mouth, ensuring no more stupidity. Mr. Snow looked at me, with an impressed kinda look on his face.

"Very well. Contest on archery grounds directly after lunch. All are required to come," Mr. Snow announced.

"All of us?" Haymitch moaned. "I don't want-"

"_All of you._" Mr. Snow repeated. "And listen to Effie." Mr. Snow left. Haymitch collapsed on the floor. Effie wrinkled her nose and turned to us.

"You should all get to know each other, and get to know your way around Camp Panem," Effie smiled. "We'll have the oldest counselors come up here to guide tours." Effie looked at a few people. About five teens rose from their seats and stood at the front of us, including Gale. "Now, get to work," Effie failed a whisper to the experienced counselors. She turned to us and smiled again. "It's going to be a big, big day!"

"Hey, guys. Welcome to Camp Panem. I'm Glimmer Shimmershine. We hope you'll enjoy being a counselor. It is _totally_ gonna be a lot of fun!" Glimmer gushed and tried to look cute. A muscular redhead looked annoyed.

"I'm Finnick Odair, the cool one. I'll be in charge of the pools, lifeguards, swimming, all that shit." The redhead smiled all macho-like.

"I'm Gale Hawthorne. I'll be doing the nature stuff and hiking. If you ever want to take a hike in the woods, you're most likely to get lost, so have me on your contacts….ladies," Gale winked. He was suddenly getting all cocky and stuff. I knew Gale really didn't have that much of an interest in dating, even though he was very good-looking.

"Cato," a blonde guy grunted. Gale rolled his eyes.

"Call me Johanna Mason. Actually, Johanna. I've been here, for like, forever, so if you want to ask a question, ask me, not these drunkards," Johanna pointed her thumb at the boys to her right.

"Years before, we broke into tour groups, but this year we'll just mash it all into one big thing. Glimmer! Archery!" Finnick called in a funny voice.

"Okay, guys, follow me," Glimmer said in that phony cute voice of hers where she purposely scratched her words. "We're going to the archery fields. There might be some arrows on the ground, so watch your step, because they're sharp!" We made our way towards the archery field. It was nothing much, just a few set-up bull's-eye targets. I could easily shoot _through_ the flimsy material. I almost laughed at what Glimmer said.

"If you don't know your way around a bow, you're gonna end up destroying something, so please don't try…"

The rest of the tour was boring. I zoned out.

Until after lunch.


	5. V: May the Best Archer Win

**Camp Panem**

**Chapter 5**

**Katniss's POV:**

I gained some energy from the friendly old cook's food, her name was Greasy Sae. I did not ask why. Right after I shoved my meal down my throat, I ran to Cabin Twelve to get my bow and arrows. I ran back into the cafeteria and sat next to Gale. The other people at the table were Finnick, Annie, Thresh, and Johanna. I just met Annie earlier when she sat down with us. She was Finnick's girlfriend, and she's only been here for two summers. I also met Thresh, who was really big but nice. He was a counselor for a really long time, but not long enough to have a mentor status. Since that Cato guy was stealing glances at me, and Gale already hated Peeta, he just didn't seem to know who to glare at.

Glimmer, sitting across from Cato, was glaring at _me. _Her bow looked like a cheap Halloween costume prop. Mine was hand-carved out of wood.

"You're gonna win, you know that, Katniss," Gale reassured me.

"Shut up," I snapped. I wasn't ready to forgive him from separating me from Prim. Who, hopefully, is alive. I started to get teary-eyed thinking about it. I quickly washed those thoughts away. I had to be mentally ready for the contest. I looked around the room quickly to spot where Peeta was. He was sitting with that Cato kid. I huffed and tried to strike up a conversation with Annie.

"How long have you guys been dating?" I asked.

"A year. Except I've had an eye for Annie for like, forever," Finnick said to me but smiled at Annie. A blush crept up her face.

Gale looked at his watch. "Ugh. Mr. Snow told me to do something." He stood in the middle of the room and shouted, "LUNCH IS OVER! TO THE ARCHERY UNIT!" Our table started laughing like crazy, Glimmer's table stared, and Cato's table snickered.

I started to get up. As I walked through the door, a voice whispered behind me, "Maybe I won't win…." And as she brushed past me she smirked, "But I'll get the spot."

That Glimmer was a menace.

As I arrived at the targets, I sat on a bench and waited for Mr. Snow to get up. Glimmer started to "get ready." She did all this unnecessary stretching, and slipped some fingerless gloves on. She had no muscle whatsoever, and she looked nervous. I knew what was going on.

She was a phony.

She put that archery image up to make her look tough. She wanted to get the archery counselor spot, to keep up with the act. She thought nobody else would be interested and she'd get the spot, and nobody would know that she sucks at it.

I hated her even more. But what was I to say? She was going to humiliate herself in front of everyone, so I didn't care. I hoped that I looked better, but people would think she was the more professional one. Finally, Mr. Snow showed up.

"OK, let's get this over with," Mr. Snow clasped his hands together. The counselors on the bleachers shut up. "Glimmer, you may go first."

Glimmer turned pale. She covered it up with a shaky smile. Gale sneered. Glimmer stood behind the white line marker on the ground and held the bow up. She grabbed a silver arrow from her silver quiver fastened to the belt loosely connected around her small waist. She didn't even nock the arrow correctly. Why? Because her bow had no arrow rests or _anything_. She was wearing fingerless gloves? She had fucking gloves and not a bracer.

She used one finger to nock-or should I say _string-_the arrow on the string. She didn't even pull back on the fletching or nock, she did it on the shaft. With one finger. She didn't close one eye. Even if Glimmer was lucky enough to somewhere on the target, her arrow would go in, because it was probably plastic. Glimmer didn't draw her bow, she just lifted it and pulled the string back. She didn't know how to aim, so she just squinted, adjusted her position, and let go. The bow didn't make it to the target.

Counselors gasped. Mr. Snow looked confused. Glimmer looked like she was about to cry.

**Peeta's POV:**

Katniss took her place behind the line and was swift. She grabbed a sharp arrow and nocked it, drew her bow in one fluid motion and aimed. I couldn't help but stare. Her back was arched and her curves were unleashed. She wasn't skinny, she was fit. She looked so in focus….and got a perfect bull's-eye.

Katniss got the spot. Now we were supposed to practice what we were teaching in, and apparently that just meant pool party with Finnick. As soon as Mr. Snow was out of sight, it was Finnick's call…

"POOL PARTAYYYYYYY!"

**Peeta and Katniss's relationship starts next chapter…..ish.**


	6. VI: Katniss Will Not Tolerate Flirting

**Camp Panem**

**Chapter 6**

**Peeta's POV:**

I didn't want anything to do with a drunken Gale. Seriously, how bad could it get? Sober Gale is bad enough. Once he gets drunk, all he'll want to do is beat me up. But then there's that chance. Katniss might be there. And if she is, that's my chance. But if Gale gets his hand on some vodka, my chances are down the drain.

Unless Gale doesn't come….

…And Katniss does.

**Katniss's POV:**

Pool party? I wasn't going to go to a goddamned pool party with a bunch of seniors whose favorite drinks are gin. But then, I wanted to be social. I wanted to rub my counselor job in Glimmer's face. I wanted to have fun and get my mind off of the sorry life I lead. I wanted to get drunk.

The party wasn't until dinner-ish, so we were to work on our jobs and we were allowed to hang around each other's' units and chit-chat….but only a "tad bit." I started shooting on the way-too easy archery range. Peeta had art and baking, but his units were really far away. I saw a blonde head come into view.

_Peeta?_

I just kept on shooting. Yeah, I knew I liked him. But I was here to work. I kept shooting hard. About ten arrows were lodged in that tiny bull's-eye. I shot one last hard arrow. It split through another.

Right through, dead center, broke that arrow in half.

"You're good," Someone said behind me. I turned around to face Cato's chest. He got that close to me when I wasn't looking. He was wearing a blue striped v-neck shirt, and I just got a faceful of it.

"Cato, right?"

"Nice memory. I know you're Katniss. I won't ask," Cato smiled. I didn't know if that was supposed to be funny. Cato looked like a real douche to me, so I wanted him off of my unit.

"Go away," I growled, steeping backwards slowly, glaring at his handsome face. Yes, he was good-looking, but it doesn't mean that I liked him.

"Hey, hey," Cato took a step towards me. "I'm the boss. I'm in charge of all sports, and archery is a sport, am I correct? I'm in charge of _you._" He took another step.

"Archery," I threatened, shaking in anger, "is more than just a _sport_ to me."

"Sorry for offending you, Katniss," Cato looked at the ground. "I truly am…" He looked up and smiled at me. He was advancing quickly.

"Let me make it better….."

**Peeta's POV:**

I had prepped the whole kitchen. I got rid of the delicate cobwebs woven into the corners of the cupboard shelves and dusted off all of the counters. They had anything a baker could want in this kitchen. Any ingredient you could think of. Market County wasn't exactly the best place to live. Ever since I saw how they used nonpareils and candy flowers on cakes in Majesty, I wanted to get a hold on all of the cake decorations there ever were. And plus, this place had cinnamon sugar. I've always wanted to work with cinnamon sugar.

After some hard work in the baking unit, I decided to take care of the arts department tomorrow. Just out of curiosity, I went to check if Katniss was out doing her stuff on the targets. When I got to the targets, I heard voices. Then there was silence. A voice sliced through the quiet stillness of it all. I walked out to the scene.

And I did not like what I saw.


	7. VII: I Know You and Owe You

**Camp Panem**

**Chapter 7**

**Peeta's POV:**

I gaped at the scene before me. Katniss was very close to Cato. She had an arrow nocked in her bow and she was ready to shoot. The point was touching Cato's chest.

Katniss didn't see me. I had no idea what to do.

"I know you're not gonna shoot me, Katniss. You wouldn't shoot a person," Cato tried to smirk that annoying smirk, but I knew he was at least a _little_ scared.

"Everyone has a first time," Katniss said and quickly shot the arrow high up into the air. "Now go away." Cato smirked again and looked at her one last time.

"Party at nine," he whispered, and walked away. Just as he crossed over to the other unit, the arrow came falling down towards Cato, and fell into the ground right by his feet. He left the unit.

It was then when Katniss finally noticed me.

"What do you want?" she snarled, obviously not in a good mood.

"Nothing, I just….I was just walking around and seeing what everyone was doing," I lied. She looked at me in a funny way.

"You saw the whole me-shooting-Cato thing, right?" Katniss asked. I nodded. "Well you don't tell _anyone_. Especially if Snow or Trinket finds out, you're dead," Katniss threatened.

"You wouldn't actually shoot someone, would you?" I wondered aloud. She got even angrier.

"What the fuck, Peeta! You know what, I don't even know you. I don't know who you are. I just know your name and I just found out you freaking existed yesterday. I don't get what's with you. You think we can be friends. You think you _know_ me. But _big_ surprise, Peeta, you don't. You _don't_ know me. Because nobody does. Nobody knows who I am. And nobody ever will!"

I tried to take it all in. I tried to remain calm. But I my heart was cracking in two inside.

"Maybe you can be more open, Katniss. We _can_ be friends. Nothing more," I suggested. Katniss suddenly looked like she wanted to cry.

"My only friend is Gale. But he really sucks sometimes. He's had about fifty girlfriends. They come and always go with hurt feelings. Gale gives less shit every time he breaks up. Like last time, he broke up with this rich little prep-school girl named Delly Cartwright from Majesty probably, and he didn't even care. This is how it went, Peeta, seriously. Gale sees Delly at some kind of public place. Gale and I are both poor, 'cause we live in Market County, you see. But there Delly is, sparkling in a pile of crap. And Gale might be poor, but he's freaking handsome, not that I like him, but we can both agree on that," Katniss stopped to take a breath and look at me. I nodded. Gale was a pretty handsome fella. We sat on a bench and Katniss continued.

"So he notices Delly. He goes up to her. He compliments her. Delly is confused. Then Delly likes Gale back. They go out for a week or two. And then the 'feeling' isn't there anymore, so Gale dumps Delly. And I don't think he even ever loved her. 'Cause he just called me up one night, a week after they started dating, and he was like, 'Me and Delly broke up.' And he sounded happy. That's the problem; Gale always says the 'feeling' isn't there anymore. But truthfully, I think he just gets tired of the same girl. He dates every pretty girl he sees because he knows he can get them 'cause of his looks. Then he breaks the girl's heart. It sucks," Katniss frowned.

"That's terrible. I feel bad for Delly…..and the other forty-nine girls. He shouldn't just go around dating and dumping," I said.

"Yeah. Let's change the subject."

I thought for a bit. "I heard that you're from Market County too," I recalled.

"You're from Market County?! You look like a Majesty kid."

"Well….um….I live in the um….nicer part of town," I said carefully, watching my words.

"It's alright. It's just that…well….most of the kids here are all rich and…ya know….they're so _Majesty_," Katniss sighed. Majesty was the center of our country. Also where the richest families lived. You had to have a permit to even go _inside_ Majesty.

"Um, I have to go now. I need some time to poke around the paints and stuff, so see you at the party?" I stood up.

"Yeah," Katniss smiled a little.

I started to walk out of the dirt-floor unit and back onto the grass but-

"_Wait!_" Katniss shouted, looking at me with wide gray eyes. I turned.

She looked down at her lap. "Never mind."

I back to the kitchen and sat on a tall stool by a countertop. The place was deserted, and I was alone in the cold weather. I slumped over the table. I thought about Katniss.

The thing is, I've known Katniss Everdeen all my life.

I lived in the good part of Market County. I was in her grade at school. I've always stared at her, wondering how a face like hers was humanly possible. She was beautiful; she was the sunshine peeking out of the cloud of reality. I guess I loved her even when I was little. I guess that's why I was so determined to develop a relationship with her. The only time we had direct interaction was probably the bread.

* * *

It was wintertime, the season where everything was tough. The bread hardened almost immediately after it was released of the fire and the fire was difficult to start. I got daily beatings for getting blood in the dough or on anything else. My hands became so dry and cracked in the winter, that with the slightest touch, they bled. I was probably around ten years old, so I didn't like the blood very much. Give me those hands now and I wouldn't care.

But I had no time to take pity on myself. Every day, Katniss came back to school looking weaker and skinnier. I knew that she illegally hunted in the government-restricted forest, but most of the game was hibernating for months. I knew her family was feeble and poor, and I knew that many were dying in Market County, and she could slip away right with them.

One day, especially cold, the air was biting even _inside_ the bakery with multiple fires going. Snow was falling outside like cotton balls, and I could watch the blanket grow thicker and thicker each second. I daydreamed out the window and worried about Katniss and her family. I was distracted with the thought of her frozen to death; her small body lying on the floor, her piercing gray eyes wide open and glazed over, a mother and a small child weeping over her corpse.

Mother slapped my back.

"Get to work, you worthless little thing," she scowled. "This is your last chance. I don't want blood on my bread." I went back to the marble slab used as out counter and started kneading the bread dough. Mother was tired of my blood getting everywhere, so she put me on the cheapest product. I stood beside my brother, Rye, who was preparing pastry paste. Rye was the big brother, the awesome role model I wanted to be. He cared about me the most out of my other two brothers. Mother got the fire started and left the room. Rye suddenly grabbed one of my hands tightly and started wrapping something around it. I realized they were bandages.

"Mother will freak if she sees another drop of blood," Rye whispered, and bandaged my other hand.

"Where did you get this?" I asked quietly.

"Mrs. Everdeen used to have a healing shop. She sold this to me," Rye explained quickly. "go back to work, now. Try not to get beaten."

I thanked Rye and kept on kneading. I knew Mother never loved me, and I was the unwanted son. When she became pregnant with me, she wanted a girl, I knew it, and out came little boy Peeta. Mother came back into the room. She grabbed the bread dough from me and inspected it for any blood. I was proud to know that I wouldn't be getting slapped this time. She merely grunted and slapped it back on the marble.

She turned and checked out the window and squinted, her eyes wide. I looked to see why. I couldn't see much from the thick cloud of snow, but I could make out a small figure picking through our trash bins. Mother opened the back door and screamed terrible things at the figure I would not like to recall. As she opened the door, I had a clearer view.

The figure was unmistakably Katniss. She was alive, but she looked like she was on the edge of a cliff, the smallest puff of a toddler and she would be pushed into the pit, falling into death. I couldn't let that happen. I made a plan quickly in my head, a plan I knew I'd get a beating for. I looked back at Rye, who had told me not to get beaten, but I didn't want to take part in Katniss Everdeen's death. So I put the bread into the oven and burned it.

Mother screamed at me and shoved the burnt bread into my arms, pushing me out the back door.

"I gave you a chance! Now you'll feed the pigs and _stay_ with them!" Mother scolded, and locked the door. I glanced at Katniss, crouched in the snow, the flurries already piling on top of her head. She looked like she was too cold, too beaten down to move, and she'd freeze to death right there. I threw the bread at her, and it landed in front of her face. She grabbed it and rubbed it all over her body and face, embracing its heat. She broke off a hard piece and stuck it in her mouth, stood up, and looked right at me with a confused look. I could read what was going on inside her head/.

_Why?_

I just smiled a little. She ran off to her home. I sat on the steps, waiting to be let inside the kitchen again.

* * *

**Katniss's POV:**

I didn't tell Peeta to wait because I wanted to keep talking to him. I told him to wait, because, well, did I ever tell you how I hated owing people? I hated owing Prim for making me happy every day. I hated my mother for not being sour back at me when I yelled at her. I hated owing Gale for caring for me so much while all I did was shun him.

And now I owe Peeta Mellark my life.


	8. VIII: Twisted

**Camp Panem**

**Chapter 8**

**Katniss's POV:**

I suddenly felt a complicated loathing towards the blonde boy with the bread. I should be thankful for him, really. I should be praising him every day as a god for granting my life and my mother and Prim's. But I don't. Because this boy had become friends (kind of) with me. And if we became friends, I would always feel bad.

So we couldn't be friends.

Really, I don't know why I hate him so much now. There is really no strict evidence or reason, but it just happens. That's what happens with Katniss Everdeen. My mind is so twisted that I can't even figure out what's happening, what I'm feeling, or mostly, what I want.

So suddenly, I just completely shut down and collapse in a helpless heap of nothingness. I didn't want to think. I just wanted to lay sprawled out on this shabby bench until it was time to eat. I wasn't looking forward to the party. I considered not showing up, but that would be impossible with Johanna biting at my ankles like mosquitos in the summer. And Annie would want me there, for I'm her shield when Finnick gets out of hand. It was extremely easy to imagine Finnick and Gale drunk with cheap beer, tipping over and crumpling onto the sand by the lake.

Thinking of the party got my mind off of Peeta. But thinking about that got me thinking about Peeta all over again, of course. I figured it wouldn't be that hard to shut him out because I was here to work anyway. And hope that Prim was alive.

I had too many things weighing me down. What to do with Peeta, overprotective Gale, the pool party, and the heaviest load of all, Prim. And then I hated Gale too. But then I didn't have any friends to turn to. I guess I had Annie and Johanna, but I just met them this morning and they wouldn't understand like Gale did.

But I decided to put it all behind me and search for Gale. I could count on him for a hug, a talk, a comfort session. By my best guess, he was in the woods somewhere. I brought my bow along with me even though there would be no bears to shoot because they were probably in their caves for hibernation. I trudged through the snow and saw him right away. His bright red parka stood out against the white snow.

"Gale!" I called as I ran towards him. He looked at me with surprise, but didn't complain and just smiled. "Gale," I breathed, since I wasn't used to running in snow piled up this high.

"Hey, Catnip. What brings you out here?" He looked down at me. He was probably two heads taller than me, since he was particularly large and I was particularly small, and there was an age gap.

"You," I admitted. His face turned serious, knowing something was up. He gestured toward a long, flat rock and sat. I sat down.

This was all too familiar.

This scenario had just played a few minutes earlier. I talk. Peeta sits on the bench. I sit on the bench. Talk more. Then I am privledged with severe headaches.

But this was Gale. Not Peeta. I did owe him a lot, but I wasn't really mad at him. I was, for Prim, but I was angrier at Peeta, though I had no reason to be mad at him. I had a reason to be mad at Gale. But I was mad at Peeta, not Gale.

And my mind has gone inside-out once again, and my thoughts begin to become repetitive. The swirls in my head pull me out of the now and into the past.

I am not in the woods with Gale, snow starting to fall in delicate flurries.

I am back in Market County.

* * *

I had hot bread in my hands. It was fresh out of the oven, cracked and black on the outside but soft and spongey on the inside. The blonde boy from school had a purple and red cheek when he threw it in my direction. I believe he did it for me.

I run back home, my feet freezing since my thin, worn-out shoes do nothing to help my feet from getting cold as ice. I run into the door, and meet tiny Prim and my mother. They are on the broken-down couch together, trying to share body heat under a thin blanket. I hand it to my mother. Prim stares at it hungrily. She has gotten so slim over the past few months. I knew I probably was bony too, and I felt like I was dying before. The whistling wind, cold mounds of ice surrounding me, then a lady breaking down the last of me, my mental confidence. And then the boy threw me the bread.

And I was saved.

My mother looks from the loaf to me, back and forth. We don't speak. She breaks it into three equal pieces. Prim tears hers apart and gobbles it down in a second. Mother just holds her piece, the warmth letting her fingers work better. When Prim finishes, she's disappointed there's no more, so I give her my piece. And suddenly I am starving all over again. I feel cold and barren. But Prim so happy with the color returning to her skin makes me feel better, and my mother gives me her piece.

We were all content. It was all good.

"Thank you, Katniss," Prim smiled. I tucked a strand of her golden hair behind her ear and smiled back. I still felt miserable, but the bread was enough to keep me barely alive.

I went back to school and just tried to hang in there until the srping rolled in. I didn't live for myself at the time. I was living for Prim and my mother. I was responsible for plumping them up as soon as the first _chipmunk_ woke up.

Finally, the warm weather came, and I was nearly living in the woods, searching for animals. Ironically, I only shot wild dogs and chipmunks for the first month, and the bread remained the symbol of three lives saved.

* * *

I snap back. I see Gale with a hand covering his eyes. I wondered what just happened. I shake his shoulder.

"Gale," I whispered. "_Gale_."

His hand retreated to its normal position. He looked at me and started talking in a jumble."You just…You were just paralyzed. Like, I thought you were dead. I was scared. I-"

"I'm alright," I muttered loud enough for him to hear. Gale looked like he wanted to give me a hug or something, but he just shrugged. It wasn't Gale's arms I wanted now anyways. I wanted Peeta's.

But then again, I've only known Peeta for a couple days, so I allow myself to lean against my best friend, allow him to wrap his arms around me, allow for us to share our warmth. It reminds me of that night when I brought the bread to my pathetic, starving family while we were all huddled up in a bundle, trying to spread warmth.

"Prim," I said quietly. Gale looked at me with a sad face. I couldn't meet his gaze.

"I'm sorry. I should've let her come with us or something. Become a junior counselor. We've had those before," Gale apologized. I didn't say anything. "But Katniss, I'm sure she's okay. I doubt she's dead."

He says it so easily. _She's dead._ Nobody should be able to say those words just like that. It strikes me that Gale was actually talking in such a fashion.

"I mean, your mother was there. The house wasn't breaking down, it was just shaking. Nobody's dead."

I bolt upright.

"Stop," I whispered. I didn't want him to go on. I've spent the whole day trying to think of other things other than Prim, and this was what I got. I did not welcome the haunting visions at night, and the best thing to do to ward them off was not think of them during the say.

"Stop," I repeated as I turned and ran.

I started to sprint across the snow, while the flakes grew fatter and fell faster. I ran straight into Finnick, and by his large size I fell into the cold ice while he didn't budge. He noticed his mistake and helped me up.

"What's the rush, _Katniss_?" He said my name in such a tone it was more irritating that 'Catnip.'

"Just…I didn't want to get buried in the snow. I mean, look at this. We have enough," I lied.

"Same. Annie's at the cafeteria for dinner. Would you like to join her with me?" Finnick held out his hand. I scowled and crossed my arms, but we still went to the cafeteria. We stripped out of our heavy coats and got some chicken. Annie sat alone at a deserted table with a hot bowl of soup.

"Hi," Annie greeted as we approached her.

"Hi," I offered a small smile. I sat across form her and Finnick. He held her hand under the table as we talked and ate. I doubt they ever planned to let go.

If only it was that way with Peeta.


	9. New Story?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know this isn't a new Camp Panem chapter, but I'd like feedback on this notice.

I wanted to post my original stories on here, but figured out that there was no way to. So I'm thinking about getting one of them and just replacing every 'Scarlett' (the main character's name) into 'Katniss' and tag it under Hunger Games.

I've wanted this story to go up for a while.

But if I do post it, please understand that these are my own characters so "Katniss" will probably not seem like the real Katniss. Just get ready for some OOC action.

But then again, I might not post it, and I'm having a hard time making a decision.

So here's the first few lines:

Let's go back in time.

Let's go back two days, when none of this happened. Let's go back in time when I was still me, not what I am now.

I believe today is a Sunday. I should be at church. But I am not. I'm not even sure if this is actually Sunday. I am guessing. I think I am right. I can't know. I don't know where the calendar is. Even if someone put one in my hands, I wouldn't be able to know.

I am not in a state of being right now.

I am in a state of nothing.

There's more, but I'd like to leave it at that for an excerpt.

To post or not to post, that is the question.

Tell me in your comments.

I won't release chapter 9 until I get enough votes for this.


	10. IX: Alive and Well

**Camp Panem**

**Chapter 9**

**Katniss's POV:**

After a short dinner, Finnick asked me a gnawing question.

"I'll see you at the party, right?" Finnick flicked his head. I rolled my eyes like Annie. Annie noticed my hesitation.

"C'mon, Katniss. It'll be fun. Everyone can actually meet each other personally," Annie pleaded. I inhaled a large breath and nodded.

"Fine," I gave in. "See you."

I walked out to the snow and crossed paths with Gale once again.

"I'm sorry," Gale whispered.

"For what?" I asked loudly. I decided to forgive him once more. He opened his mouth, but I stepped over his words. I didn't care the least bit about his response. "See you at the party," I dismissed him quickly, and ran back to Cabin Twelve.

Peeta was already in the room, sitting on his bed writing in a notebook. By the loud complain of the old door refusing to open, he looked up with his blue eyes. He shut his notebook and jammed it under his covers.

"Hi," he smiled. I returned the smile and the 'hi', also sitting on my bed on the other side of the room. I had no entertainment in my suitcase, like Peeta did. I only had time to stuff my whole closet in the bag when Gale swung me over his shoulder and carried me to an awaiting hovercraft.

"Are you going to the party?" I asked Peeta. I was more comfortable with the subject now that I've made up my mind.

"Yeah. Hoping to make things up with your, um, friend. I don't believe that we started on the right foot," Peeta massaged the back of his neck, turning pink.

"Gale?"

"Yeah. He, uh, didn't really get a very good first impression of me…"

I thought about when Gale first saw Peeta. Probably when I was in Peeta's arms just hours after we knew each other existed. I turned pink as well.

"Um…" I stuttered. Thankfully, I was saved by Effie Trinket's voice. I thought I would call the crazy lady by her full name, because I wasn't friendly enough with her to call her Effie, and no way in hell would I be calling her 'Ms. Trinket.' _Would you pass the tea, Ms. Trinket? I would be pleased, Ms. Everdeen._ Yuck.

The speaker in our cabin beeped three times.

_Why, hello, Cabin Twelve! Results for camper assignments have been released! Mr. Mellark, your units, Baking and Art are optional. So you will mostly be taking girls. Miss Everdeen, you will also be taking children both boys and girls. Each counselor also has a shift of supervising an age group, so Mr. Mellark will be taking boys aged thirteen to fourteen and you, Miss Everdeen, will be taking ladies aged thirteen to fourteen. Any questions?_

I still couldn't process 'aged thirteen to fourteen.' Prim was thirteen. My eyes became wide and my skin became pale. I whispered, "Names of campers aged thirteen to fourteen."

_I believe that was you, Miss Everdeen. Well, well, both of you listen up, now. The boys are Rory Hawthorne, Jack Slayer, Robert Johnson, Flavius Prep, Castor Capitol, and Pollux Capitol. The ladies are Jennie Leeg, Christina Leeg, Octavia Prep, Rue Gardener, Clove Robinson, and, oh, Fox Face. Questions?_

I stayed silent. I did not hear 'Primrose Everdeen' among the names. I did not notice Effie stuttering for the first time. I tried to stay standing, but my knees objected.

"Is that all?" I asked.

_Those are only the campers enlisted currently. There are more that have sent in registration requirements but I am working very, very hard to register them all! Most campers aren't in the computer yet, but they will very, very soon!_

I felt a twinge of hope light up in my heart. "Who…who are they? The unregistered campers?"

_Oh, Miss Everdeen, there are so many children right here on my desk! You may visit me in my office in Mr. Snow's mansion and sift through the papers if you favor it._

I needed to know.

"I'll be there."

I just gave Peeta a curt nod and dashed off into the snow, towards the mansion. We had seen where it was on the tour. I punched the buzzer and the door unlocked after a standby. A doorman seemed to be awaiting me in a pressed, navy blue uniform with golden buttons and a matching hat. He gave me a mere nod. I read the embroidered letters on his jacket. _Darius._

"Hello, Darius. Do you know where Effie Trinket's office is?" I followed Darius out of the foyer and motioned towards a door. He left silently. I opened the door to reveal the Majesty woman. Effie, wearing a crazy outfit and a load of makeup, sat at a detailed wooden desk covered with tons of paperwork and a high-tech computer. She looked up from her typing. When she saw me, her face brightened up and morphed into a big smile. Her hands flew from the keyboard to her chest.

"Oh, Katniss! Have a seat, there, there!" Effie squeaked and pointed at a seat in front of her desk. I sat on it.

"Can I look at the names?" I asked.

"Of course! Here are all of the registration forms for children thirteen to fourteen," Effie said. "This is the gentlemen and these belong to the ladies. Just ask me if you need anything." Effie returned to the computer. I looked at the tall stack of papers that belonged to the girls.

I looked closely and saw that they were marked in alphabetical order. Little tabs stuck out in some places, with letters written on them. I found the tab with a big fat E on it and went through the papers.

Engima.

Emelia.

Earheart.

Eagle.

Earles.

Eastburn.

Eastman.

Evans.

Everdeen.

I clutched the paper.

_Everdeen, Primrose. _

_Age: 13. _

_Allergies: None. _

_Cabin: 12. _

_Address: Market County. _

_Guardian(s): Tina Everdeen._

_Underline Favored Optional Classes: __Art __Swimming __Baking._

I didn't bother to read the whole form. I just knew that Prim was alive. The house didn't collapse and seal her in. She survived. I looked again to see her optional classes. She underlined all of them. It seemed like a Prim thing to do. I slipped the paper back into the stack. I looked at Effie one more time. She might be a little crazy, but she was actually very hardworking. I wouldn't have expected for her to be multiple positions in the camp staff _and_ be Mr. Snow's secretary.

"Thank you, Effie," I said softly.

"Oh, Katniss, it was _no_ problem! Come again!" Effie chirped.

Everything seemed brighter now. The snow outside was bright and beautiful. The sun seemed welcoming and the birds' songs were beautiful. I ran through the white blanket towards the cabin.

_Nothing could make this day better_, I thought. But I knew that was a lie.

_The only thing that could make this day better is Peeta_, I thought, and ran faster.

**Short chapter, yeah, yeah. Sorry about that.**

**Next chapter will be as long as I can make it, I swear!**


	11. X: Dead by Morning

**Camp Panem**

**Chapter X:**

**Peeta's POV:**

I didn't know exactly who Rory Hawthorne was, but I had a feeling he was Gale Hawthorne's brother. And that couldn't be good. I mean, the guy hates me, and he's well over six feet. I didn't want to take my chances with him. Sure, I could probably stand a chance in a fight, but me being the sensitive guy I am, I wouldn't have the guts to punch him. He never did anything to me, so why cause him agony?

Katniss seemed a little shell-shocked at what Effie said over the cabin speaker. I don't know what the problem was, but after all…Katniss's words sliced through my mind.

_You know what, I don't even know you. I don't know who you are. I just know your name and I just found out you freaking existed yesterday. I don't get what's with you. You think we can be friends. You think you know me. But big surprise, Peeta, you don't. You don't know me. Because nobody does. Nobody knows who I am. And nobody ever will!_

Yeah, that's what she said. But I held on to my confidence, because, well, I had three seasons to get to know her. I hoped I wouldn't screw anything up. I bet I would, but hopefully nothing _too _major. My left stump started to itch, and that wasn't good. I learned the hard way that if I left it like that it would start to throb, and I'd have to go to Dr. Aurelius, the Majesty doctor that amputated it in the first place. I owe him everything. To keep from feeling that pain I have to take the leg off, so I wanted to take my artificial leg off. Like I said, I had it amputated in an accident long ago. I really don't like thinking about it. Every time I do it plays in my head all over again, every single detail.

* * *

President Cliff's army of officers from Majesty started to storm into every single county. I don't know why. All I knew was that I didn't like these people. He sent a huge wave to our county, almost as if there was a purpose. I bet he wished that Market County would be wiped off of the map. The people so weak, the government so feeble. I started to recognize everything about them to protect myself; the sound of their Majesty boots grinding into the floor, the thump of all of their equipment, weaponry, and armor moving as they took each step, the buzzing of their radios, and of course, what they looked like. They wore white uniforms with lots of bulky armor underneath, specialized officer combat boots, helmets, goggles tinted black, a radio attached to the shoulder, and multiple guns, knives, and explosives on them. The officers started destructing our buildings and executing mere suspects of breaking the law. I was worried for Katniss. The officers might go far as looking for weapons.

And they did. They broke into homes and stole everything that could have been a weapon. I would hear windows breaking, metal clanging, screaming, and it actually came down to gunshots. It was terrible. One big, loud, _BOOM_ echoing through the whole county, signifying a useless, pointless death. That was when I was sure that God's heaven was overflowing, and people could start falling from the sky any minute, kicked out of heaven.

The soup kitchen lady was hung for her possession of a metal beam. She only had it because she did not have a proper ladle for stirring her pots full of what fed the whole county. Now we had barely any food at all, and we mourned the loss of the nice old lady with the wrinkly, warm grin. The officers would usually whip or stab men. The officers stormed through the forest to make sure no poaching was happening, and guess what?

They found Katniss's bow and arrows.

They gathered us all up and threatened to drop a bomb on all of us if whoever owned the bow didn't admit it. The one officer wearing a different uniform not decorated with weapons but embroidery, patches, pins, golden buttons, and badges, a rich navy blue instead of white, came up to us and presented a box full of dynamite. "Tell us. Or we will start hiding these everywhere. We will bomb you, one house at a time, until there is no Market County. Show yourself, and save your friends."

Nobody said anything. '"SHOW YOURSELF!'" the head officer bellowed, some of the medals shaking, making a pretty tinkling sound. Not pleased with the silence that followed, he hurled one of the terrible lit sticks at the butcher's shop. It burst into flames. I had to do something. Everyone was about to die.

"I didn't do it," I said. "But I will take the punishment." The man in navy looked at me with an odd look. I bet this kind of thing was not even dreamed about in Majesty. He looked at me as if he was almost feeling bad for me. After I said that, I guess some of the old people couldn't bear for a young man to die.

"I will take half of the boy's punishment."

We will split it into thirds. I will take a third."

This went on and on, until everyone got one slice or stab of a knife. The day came, and they stabbed my leg so bad that it wouldn't stop bleeding. Katniss's mother had a full house of bleeding residents, and my leg had to be amputated. She couldn't do that, it was something that had to be done in Majesty. Mayor Undersee was so kind to get a doctor from Majesty, Dr. Aurelius, to fix a robotic leg on me. I've worn long pants ever since.

* * *

But even though my stump was itching like crazy, I couldn't take the leg off because Katniss pop through the door any second now. And then she strode into the room, a bounce in her step.

"Prim is coming!" she exclaimed. I left the confused look on my face. She was smiling.

"Oh right, I forgot to tell you! Well Gale forced me to come here in the middle of the blizzard and had to leave Prim! So I didn't know if she was alive but she is and she's coming in the summer!" Katniss shouted, bubbly. I laughed a little. That explained all of the depressed stuff.

"Well…Thank God," I said, not really knowing what to do.

"I'm going to go to, uh, Finnick's thing by the lake. See you there … if you're going," I pointed to the door.

"I'll be there," Katniss smiled. I made my way towards the lake, which was actually pretty beautiful at night.

Katniss was in a good mood and she was coming to a party. Perfect.

It was time for me to make a move.

Since my leg was really bothering me, I kind of hobbled the way to the lake. I hoped there would be something to sit on. A bonfire came into view, but the logs around it were occupied by girls. Whatever. I'd be standing tonight. I looked at the group I immediately titled the Bitches. They wore fashionable jackets with super-short shorts. The regular girls by the bonfire all wore coats and sweats, like the guys.

"Heyyyyy, Peeta. What's up?" Finnick walked up and patted me on the shoulder. He wasn't drunk yet, but I could tell he was heading towards that road. Cato and Gale were both looking at me in uncomfortable ways.

"Someone get me a drink," I sighed. I wanted to punch Cato, but I didn't want to do it. Maybe a little shot would help…

"Ooh, Peeta, getting all tough. C'mon," Finnick guided me to a bunch of bottles embedded into the sand by the lake. I have actually never tried beer before. Finnick looked around and pulled a green bottle out of the sand and dusted it off. He pulled a shining knife out of nowhere and stabbed the cap. It popped off into the sand somewhere. _Abernathy's__ White Liquor._ He handed it to me. "Try this one."

I took a sip and almost spat it out. Abernathy's White Liqour tasted terrible, but if it would make me do things that I didn't have the guts to do, I was going to down that whole bottle. Currently, the girls and boys were keeping to themselves, so I started a conversation with a nice boy named Thresh. Thresh was huge but had a soft personality. He was from Garden County and had a little sister, Rue, coming in the summer. He seemed to really care about her. When Annie started talking to Finnick, the gender barrier broke.

I advanced towards Katniss.

"Katniss," I smiled.

"That's too strong for you," Katniss knocked the bottle of Abernathy's out of my hands and it shattered against a wall of rock. Well, at least I wouldn't be in danger of doing something extremely stupid.

"Well, hello to you too," I said, with a tsk, still wanting a drink.

"You know, do you play any sports?" Katniss asked me. This girl really didn't stick to the conversation line. And I didn't and I couldn't play sports because of my leg.

"Uh…" If I was going to devote myself to this girl, I had to be honest. But of course, there was that dilemma where I wanted to lie really, really bad, but thankfully, my good side is larger than the bad.

"No, actually, I don't," I admitted.

"Oh," Katniss mumbled, disappointed. "I was going to ask if, um, we could, uh…" Katniss played with the tail of her braid and looked down at the white sand. "Never…never mind."

"No, tell me," I still stared into her eyes.

"Um, if we could go shooting some time, that's all," Katniss blurted quickly. I was surprised, of course I was. Katniss tried to ask me out, and I just blew it up when I said I didn't do sports.

"You could teach me," I said just as quickly. "You're really good, after all." Katniss turned pink.

"Um . . . sure. When can you stop by?"

Now I was really surprised. My heart skipped a beat and I felt me whole body getting hot at a rapid pace. I was almost over two hundred percent sure that my face was redder than a tomato.

"Maybe tomorrow after I clean out the art unit," I smiled a small grin, trying not to look to overwhelmed.

"Cool. See you tomorrow," Katniss spoke easier, relieved that I said yes to the meeting. Just as Katniss turned to talk to Finnick's girlfriend, Finnick came staggering up to me. His head bobbed in awkward directions and he started to heave with laughter, rolling on the floor. A second later he was bawling on the floor. I just stared. Now I was thankful that Katniss disposed of my alcohol. Then again he was back to normal.

"Peeta," Finnick panted. Then he walked away. I wondered why I was friends with him again. _Because he's a sex god, _I thought. He was damn handsome, that's for sure. I glanced at Cato, in a group of boys which I recognized as Marvel and Gloss. I didn't want to get on Cato's bad side, so I walked over to him, hoping to get off on a good start.

"Hey, man," I greeted coolly. Cato had one hand in his pocket and the other holding a beer. Now I wished Katniss had NOT disposed of my drink.

"'eyyyyyy, Peeta," Cato raised his bottle a little smile. "Not drinkin' 'night?"

"Yeah, gotta be sober for the girls," I smirked. The three guys all chuckled.

"Hey, Peeta, you're not too bad, you know." Cato leaned in closer. "Speaking of girls, see anyone you like?"

"Nah, not really. Just a little joke," I said quickly. "I think Glimmer has something for you, though."

"Well, I don't really like her. I like that girl with the arrows, you know? Glimmer knows she's hot. Katniss doesn't know she's beautiful. She plays that whole hard-to-get shit, but it just…I don't know. It just makes me want her even more. I know she wants me, and she's just teasing. I mean, she threatened to shoot me! I was a bit scared then, but still. She's goddamn pretty," Cato stared at Katniss. I shrugged.

"I guess she's pretty," I muttered. I was pretty mad, but Katniss's date dampened the flames.

"Mmm," Cato kept staring at Katniss, his gaze directed at her behind. I tried to keep my calm. "So, Peeta," Cato snapped back up to look at me. "Play any sports? I'd be proud to put you in one of my units, but you signed up for baking and art. I see that you're trying to get the ladies coming," Cato assumed, misreading my meaning of signing up.

"Nah, I'm just trying something new for a change. My dad's a baker," I explained, half-lying.

"But you do play sports, right? I mean, you look strong," Marvel spoke up. Now they had me in a headlock.

"I can't do many sports with my legs, but I do weights. I have, uh, a condition with my legs," I said. I was saved by Gloss when he tapped Marvel.

"Look!" Gloss pointed at Finnick and Annie at the edge of the lake. Finnick was throwing Annie into the lake, him following, shirtless, performing a flawless dive. Soon everyone was peeling out of their jackets as they ran towards the water. Glimmer, being the bitch she probably is, was only wearing a tight lacy tank top ending above her navel.

Honestly, I didn't know how to swim. I bet I could learn, but I never bothered to. Another problem was my scumbag stump. I saw everyone out there freezing cold but laughing, because that's what high school and college kids do, I guess. Have fun being stupid.

Then I saw Gale picking Katniss up and throwing her in. And then everyone was splashing ans swimming and laughing in one big, wet mess.

I just watched as Glimmer and her posse started swiveling their hips, waving their bottles in the air in the water and club dancing like they weren't chest-deep in zero degree water without music at a summer camp. It was one of the dumbest things I had ever seen. Instead of talking and swimming, they were dancing mutely with only the music of the water moving around their waists.

The guys splashed at the girls that they were interested in. Most girls were wearing tanks and some guys even had their shirts off.

And then it was all ruined by that drunkard Mr. Haymitch.

"You darn kids...You know you're not supposed to be here! You're all going to be sick! Now get _out _of there and _in _to your beds!" Haymitch yelled. Finnick got out of the water and picked up a familiar green bottle from the sand, and handed it to Haymitch.

"Oh, a drink. Thanks, boy. Effie's been forcing me to be sober. Hey, this is my favorite! Anyways, I just want to tell you guys that I had to say that because Effie told me to! I think you guys should keep being fucking retards at two AM catching hypothermia, by the way! I'm okay with y'all having fun, but seriously, get in your beds. If you're lucky you'll wake up alive." Haymitch presented a knife out of nowhere and popped the cap open. I guess everyone around here had knives. Haymitch took a large swig.

"Now go! GO!"

Haymitch walked away. Everyone, to my surprise, actually got out of the lake. I think it was the shock of how stupid they noticed they were being, 'being fucking retards at 2 AM catching hypothermia.' Katniss climbed out and ran out to me, shivering.

"Peeta, let's go. I'm cold," Katniss chattered, talking to me like we were siblings. I draped my coat out on her shoulders. "Thanks," Katniss smiled. "And remind me to punch Gale tomorrow when I wake up...if I wake up alive," Katniss rolled her eyes, imitating Haymitch.

Now I hated Gale more.

Why?

Because he made Katniss sick.

Well, probably gonna be sick.

And if she's sick tomorrow, we can't have a date.

But of course, I still like repeating the fact that Katniss asked me out in my head.

I mean, it's _Katniss._ If I get to be her boyfriend...

I shouldn't be thinking that far, should I?

Well, fuck that, I'm at Camp Panem.

And you know what that means.


	12. XI: This Isn't Even My Final Form

**Camp Panem**

**Chapter 11**

**Peeta's POV:**

I knew the day was off to a bad start when I woke up and Katniss was still sleeping. I hoped she would wake up while I took a shower, brushed my teeth, and did something with my mess of horrific blonde hair. I looked at Katniss. She was still fast asleep in her bed. I sighed and walked outside. The snow was mostly gone now, it was just a thin layer coated with slippery ice. I crunched through it in my boots and was surprised when there was nobody in the mess hall except for me, Greasy Sae and some other people.

I was just finishing my bowl of soup when a familiar voice was heard.

"Peeta?"

I turned around. It was Delly, one of my friends from my neighborhood. Her family ran the flower shop. Delly was nice to everyone; she always smiled and just genuinely liked people.

"Delly," I smiled. Maybe I could hang out with some real friends for the day.

"I didn't know you were here! I had some trouble finding some friends," Delly admitted shyly. "But there was a girl named Annie that was nice to me!"

"Oh, yeah, Annie. I've met Annie. She seems nice," I said, not really knowing how to respond in this conversation.

"Nobody's here because they went to that stupid party and all caught colds. I'm guessing good boy Peeta didn't go," Delly teased.

"Actually, I did. I just didn't swim. And how would you know if you didn't go?"

"My mother all the way in Market County could've heard Haymitch last night. He was pretty loud." I simply nodded.

Delly looked around and then came close, her face right in front of mine.

"How's your leg doing?" she whispered. Delly was one of the few that knew about the prosthetic. I didn't know what to say. I knew it wasn't doing well, and taking it off would be great, but I just couldn't. It would ruin my chances with everything, especially Katniss.

"Not so good," I said honestly. Delly gave me a smug look.

"You haven't been taking it off when you sleep, or ever, have you?" Delly accused. "It's because of that girl, Katniss, right?"

Delly knew me too well. In shame, I just nodded, confirming her assumptions. It was Delly's turn to sigh and she sat down next to me. This wasn't a polite little small talk conversation anymore.

"If she really likes you, she won't care."

"But I don't know if she really likes me," I whined. Delly rose to her feet, not looking mad, but had a sad, almost sympathetic look on her face, as she felt bad for me, like I was a little puppy who had just been kicked.

"She really likes you," Delly said, and left. I thought about it for a second. How would Delly know? She never met Katniss…or did she? She probably didn't, but I knew Delly for being a silent spy. When she wasn't smiling and making people happy, she was observing, quietly. Delly was very wise when she had to be too. Like what she said before, if Katniss really liked me, she wouldn't care about my leg. That could be true, if I knew if she really did like me, but Delly claimed that she did.

Camp Panem was so twisted.

I heard the speakers crackle to life and soon Mr. Snow's voice was echoing through the large room.

_Good morning, those who did not participate in last night's irresponsible event. Your schools and colleges have sent in work and books for you to study. Daily assignments until the end of the school year are set up. On your last day of school, Effie will collect your work. Please deliver your friends' school materials if they are unable to do so themselves. Pick your things up at the edge of the soccer field. Have a great day, counselors._

I started towards the soccer field and met up with Thresh, the guy I met yesterday at the party. He was smart enough to stay out of the water. We walked to the massive field that appeared to have been attempted to be tidied up, but failed. Most of the grass was growing in yellow patches. Effie sat behind a plastic table, piles of paperwork and books stacked upon it.

"Name?" Effie smiled, the small dab of green lipstick in the middle of her lips stretching. Her matching puffy green hairdo wobbled as she looked up at me.

"Peeta," I said. "Peeta Mellark."

"Oh, yes, I remember," Effie flipped through some papers and brightened when she came across my name. "Mellark, Peeta, Market County, high school senior. Just turned eighteen, yes?"

I smiled and nodded. Effie handed me three textbooks, two blank spiral notebooks, and folders and files stuffed with papers. Thresh got his load and I remembered I had to get Katniss's work, so I did that as well. It wasn't light, but it wasn't a strain at all. Used to carrying five sacks full of flour wearing one layer of clothing in zero degree weather, this was a cakewalk.

I discovered Thresh was in Cabin 11, right next to mine. Thresh told me about how Garden County and Market County had formed an alliance to work together and help each other survive because they were the two poorest counties. I had not been following the news whatsoever, and this seemed to be a major headline. So was the headline of the mysterious behavior of President Snow. He hasn't been appearing much, but mostly people thought it was a stupid rumor. I didn't particularly love the president, since how he treats us.

Specified areas are completely fenced off to us. For example, the woods Katniss hunts in. Snow also has random outbursts of officers coming to kill our people. I've seen a man being harpooned through the heart on live television. That actually happened to be the trend in Majesty; live TV executions. They actually turned it into a TV show_; Majestic Justice_. If you call harpooning some guy for shoplifting 'justice,' then something is clearly wrong with you.

Anyway, Thresh caught me up on the news and why Market County is still doing terribly even though the Market-Garden Alliance was made. Majesty stripped everything of the gardens when it was time to harvest. So Garden County was only left with the overripe, rotten, or bug-eaten mush. Majesty took most of our minerals and coal too, so we didn't have much to give to Garden County.

Thresh, luckily, has never witnessed an episode of _Majestic Justice_, since he was too busy working in the fields. And then we were at our cabins, after becoming angry at President Snow, angry at Majesty. I walked into the cabin, trying hard not to close the door with force, but it still results in a pretty loud slam. Katniss jumps.

I see that she's in bed, her arms crossed, propped up only with some pillows, bags under her eyes, color drained from her face, pale lips and a red nose. She looks miserable and sounds terrible too when she says hi. I suddenly feel like punching myself when I hadn't even thought about getting Katniss some soup or tea or something.

**Katniss's POV:**

I feel miserable.

My nose is clogged and all I feel is cold. I curl up in a ball but that doesn't help. I feel weak and I start sneezing so much that it irritates me. I want to shut myself up but those pathetic little coughs keep escaping me. I leaned my back on the headboard in a sitting position, which was terribly uncomfortable but for some reason I kept at it. Peeta left while I was sleeping. I wish I could see him. He was probably at work in the art unit or the baking unit.

I heard voices and footsteps, and I was almost sure it was Gale. The footsteps were angry, like Gale's. I was surprised when Peeta popped through the door and slammed it. He looked at me in my bad condition and his intense blue gaze immediately softened. He had a lot of books and folders in his hands, so he put them on the wooden desk and took his coat off.

"Katniss, you don't look well," he observed.

"Whath all tha?" She asked nasally.

"You can worry about that later. Do you feel cold?"

"Freezing." I admitted. This wasn't good. I usually didn't like telling people I was in pain or not feeling well, but I really wanted warmth.

"Lay down and pull the blankets up. That way your upper body is warmer." Peeta got the blankets from his bed and layered them on top of mine. "Do you have a coat to wear?"

All I had was my father's old hunting jacket, which didn't really provide any heat and would be probably uncomfortable to lie in bed in.

"No. Just an old jacket that probably won't help." I sneezed again. Peeta bit his lip. He looked partly ashamed of himself.

"I have to get medicine or something," Peeta zipped his coat back on. "I'll be right back."

"No," I protested weakly, getting back into the sitting position. "Stay. To…to make up for when we were…when we were supposed to hang out." I didn't know what just came out of my mouth, but I just knew it was true.

"But-" Peeta's body relaxed. "Alright." After a pause, he spoke again. "Still cold?"

"Yeah," I coughed. "You're lucky you didn't get sick."

"Only a few people didn't get sick. I know me, Delly, and Thresh didn't."

"Who's Delly and Thresh?" I asked.

"Thresh is a guy I met yesterday at the party. He's nice. Delly is, I guess, an old friend from Market County," Peeta said.

My heart sank to where I could feel a rock in my stomach. It was almost worse than my severe cold.

"Oh…a…an old friend…"My voice trailed off, and looked at the blankets. They smelled of Peeta, a sugary smell, usually of cinnamon.

"Just a friend. Nothing else," Peeta confirmed. I didn't say anything. I stayed silent. I wanted Peeta to go get the damn medicine now. He just stayed there like an idiot staring at the floorboards.

"You…could get my medicine now," I mumbled. I wanted to beat myself up. That was stupid, didn't Peeta feel bad already? So did I, but it was rude of myself to say that. Peeta looked hurt as he passed through the doorway.

You could say that this was a very bad day. I tried to make things better with an invitation to spend some time together, and then we both blow it. When I think everything will be fine, I get sick, I make Peeta feel terrible, Gale is chewing him out, and now this Delly girl is into the mix.

But this isn't even my life's final form.


	13. XII: The Murder of Glimmer Shimmershine

**Camp Panem**

**Chapter 12**

**Worked out a new layout, review and tell me if its good, bad, tell me what you thought of the story, anything. Questions, comments.**

**Katniss**

He handed me a bottle, a spoon, and set a bowl of soup down on the small table next to my bed. If I was feeling well, I would have stormed out of the cabin by now, and I wouldn't have to look at Peeta. But I wasn't well, and Peeta was here. I didn't want to hurt him more by yelling at him to get out, even though I wanted to.

I took the bitter medications and finished the soup pondering about Delly. She was from Market County. She probably lived in the better side of town, the opposite side of mine. She was an "old friend." That was the hardest piece of information to analyze.

Were they really just childhood friends?

Was there something more?

* * *

**Peeta**

I made a big mistake. Delly. Why, just _why _did she have to be here? I went from liking her to hating her in five seconds.

"Who is…Delly?" Katniss asked softly.

I told her the story.

"We lived next to each other, and our fathers were good friends. Their shops were close too. Delly snuck flowers to me and I candied them and gave her frosting versions of them. I wasn't really good at candying flowers, and the first time I tried to do it with Delly's tulip it turned out it wasn't actually edible and she got sick. But I got better because of her. We were like best friends but somewhere in middle school I got my own friends, like you and other guys. We were still friendly though."

* * *

**Katniss**

I took Peeta's word and decided to just tell him my thoughts in a brief sentence. I was never good with words.

"Alright, Peeta. Listen up. When I get better, we're gonna have a date and you're gonna get me a candied flower. No further need for explaining that we like each other," I said, and walked out of the cabin. I immediately wanted to go back in after hitting the wall of freezing air, but I trudged on to Annie's cabin area, Area 4, which happened to be so far away that I my legs started to fail me. 12 was the only area with only 1 cabin.  
The others had a bunch, like a little village. Camp Panem was pretty huge. I was going to Annie because she had healing abilities, she told me. Ocean County, where she's from, has a lot of healing kind of stuff because of the salt water which is very good for most medicines, and the mysteriously medicinal mud.

I looked at the circle of cabins and couldn't tell which from which. I peeked into one, where a guy was hunched over something. I noticed it was Finnick. I could ask him for help, since he probably knew which one was Annie's.

"Erm, Finnick?"

He turned around. "Katniss, hi."

"I just need some help."

"I do, too. I want to get Annie something special for our anniversary coming up, and I remember she really liked this cake with little frosting flowers on it. But I can't bake for my life," Finnick whined, obviously stressed out and tired.

"You didn't catch a cold?" I asked.

"Finnick's body is strong!" Finnick made a duck face and flexed his arm. I rolled my eyes and was sorry for asking. I thought about helping Finnick.

I bet Peeta could make a fantastic cake with frosting flowers, but this had to be Finnick's gift to Annie, not Peeta's.

"What are you good at?" I asked, sitting on his bed.

"Swimming. But we've done that together a million times. And fishing, but obviously that won't work."

"Why won't it work?"

"Because it's, like, _fishing_. It's uncool."

"So you've dated Annie for a year and never told her that you fish?! It's just fishing! Take her fishing or something!" I yelled.

"Okay, okay. Stop shouting, she might hear. I'll figure it out... So what'd you come here for?"

"Warmth and directions to Annie's," I crossed my arms and stood up.

"Cabin 4C, right across from Cabin 4A, which is right here," Finnick said like he was a pro at giving directions. He probably was, since he was one of the original counselors and Camp Panem was so big, it was nearly impossible for a little kid to find their way around the first few days.

"Okay, thanks." I ran across to 4C and burst into the door.

"I'm sick," I announced. Annie merely looked up from the novel she was reading. _President Snow: Hidden with Children._

"Awesome," she said, not looking up from the story.

"Do you have something to make me better?" I asked, sitting on her bed.

"Seawater tea, but I doubt you'll like it. Kids from Ocean drink it like its fruit punch, though." Annie kept on reading.

"_What_ are you reading that is _so _important?!" I shouted impatiently. Annie looked up and pointed a finger at the title of the book.

"This guy, some dude named Plutarch Heavensbee, thinks that President Snow ran away in fear of being killed, so he's being hidden with a barricade of children, not artillery. He thinks Snow is not being professionally or formally guarded at all, but being guarded with innocence. Nobody has the guts to kill a thousand children, so Snow will never be uncovered. So when the condition of our country can get worse no further, when we've hit rock bottom and start hating Snow even more, we'll never be able to find him; and the angriest counties, which are probably the poorest ones, won't have the energy to find him or kill the children. Interesting way of viewing the situation, right?" Annie smiled.

"Um, I guess. But I think he's just been busy trying to make our country better in his office," I said, a sucker for this kinda stuff. I wasn't interested the least bit about government, politics, and Snow. But I was a bit infuriated about how they treated Market.

"He can't be. We all know him as heartless and cruel. If he was even helping us, he would be making public announcements of the progress and the rise of our country, not hiding in his mansion," Annie protested. It seemed like I was the only one not in this.

"Well, I was never good with this stuff, so..."

"I wasn't either. But it's something I think everyone should know about, Katniss. Haven't you been played around with enough? Aren't you sick of the games that Snow has been playing? The officers that almost killed your county; does that not anger you at all? I know Ocean has it good, we're never attacked. But if I were you, I'd be trying to figure out where Snow was and why he was doing this. I'd be the one to kill him," Annie said with a confidence I didn't know she owned.

I thought about it. I was never allowed to go into the woods, but I did. I remember Gale had been whipped when caught once, and it was painful to remember. I remember the big line of people waiting to be stabbed with a knife for some sort of crime. I remember how badly the mines were constructed, about to sink in any minute. I remembered the elevator that triggered the death of my father and Gale's. Yes, I wanted to do something.

"I promise I _will_ take a stand, Annie. But Katniss Everdeen can't lead a rebellion with a cold," I joked. "I want that seawater soup thing you speak of."

Annie closed the book. "You sure?"

"Will it make me better?"

"By tomorrow, yes."

"Okay then."

"We have to go to this place in the woods then, and you have to come with me," Annie pulled her coat on.

"Why can't I stay?"

"It's too dangerous for me to go alone. You have all of your shooting superpowers and stuff."

"Then how'd you go last time?" I questioned, not wanting to move from the warm cabin.

"Finnick showed it to me. It's a small saltwater lake. He had his trident and killed the five hundred snakes that snuck up on me along the way," Annie put her hand on her hip, rolling her eyes.

"I have to get my stuff, then. I'll meet you at the edge of the woods." I hurried and layered some more clothes on, grabbing my bow and arrows. I saw Annie waiting, and ran up to her.

"It isn't snake season around here, for sure. I haven't been here in the winter so I don't know what's out there," Annie said nervously, starting to regret going.

"Mostly the animals hibernate around this time, but it's almost spring and some deer might hang around. At worst, a wolf," I assumed. Annie's eyes widened. I ignored it. Wolves were easy if you saw them coming.

We crunched through ice and snow, tall trunks towering above us. Birds cooed their sweet melodies while Annie led me through this jungle. We reached a pool with greenish blue water. Annie scooped a mug full of it.

"Do you know how to start a fire?" Annie asked shyly. I picked up some sticks and got a steady flame going. Annie heated up the water and got some mud which she packed at the bottom of the cup. She revealed a spoon and did something with the mixture I didn't sea, and added some other things I couldn't identify. Annie handed me the cup.

I took a big sip of it and almost hurled.

"I told you," Annie dusted her hands off.

It was hot, burning, spicy, salty, bitter. I hated every part of it.

"Do you want a sugar cube?" Annie asked. She dropped it into my hand. "Finnick showed me the trick. It makes it taste better."

I drank it again, and it only tasted a little bit better. I still gagged. "Finnick shows you a lot of things," I observed and graciously accepted all of the sugar Annie had on her. Soon it just tasted salty and sour, but it was better than the terrible bitter after taste and my lips stinging.

Annie told me about all of the wonderful things at Ocean County. It almost seemed like a fairy tale. Ocean County was one of the counties with actual wealth; they lived well and were happy. Just as she described how the mutated sand changed color at night, I heard it. Footsteps.

I saw Glimmer creep up towards Annie, completely unaware of me. She had the cheap bow, but the arrows were now some kind of Majesty death toy. The tip was a needle and a yellowish liquid was inside the glass shaft. Glimmer was trained on Annie.

I don't know what she had against her.

"Annie," I whispered. Annie didn't hear me and kept on talking. Glimmer was getting her arrow nocked in the bow. I had to do something. I didn't want to kill her, I really didn't. I saw a ball in the tree above her; maybe that would be enough to scare her and to make her flee. I had to do it fast, or Glimmer would take notice of me and shoot me instead.

It was, indeed, fast.

I stood right up and shot the ball out of its place wedged between two branches. I heard Glimmer scream as she fell down. _The ball was heavy_, I thought.

"Katniss! What happened?" Annie said with wide eyes.

"Glimmer. She was about to kill you. I shot a ball out of a tree to scare her. I think the ball was heavy and it fell down on her," I said.

"What?" Annie asked, stunned, trying to process the information. "Let's...Let's just go check on her," Annie suggested worriedly. We ran towards where we heard the scream. Glimmer lay there, on the floor. The ball lay next to her, and a black cloud was floating around her body.

_Bzzt._

"Katniss, run!"

_Bzzzz._

"What?"

"That wasn't a ball! That was a tracker-jacker nest!" Annie screamed as she ran.

I ran, but I was too late. I got stung once, which caused agony and loss of coordination.

I still ran.

Why?

Because the murder of Glimmer Shimmershine had just taken place.


	14. XIV: The Kiss

**Camp Panem**

**Chapter 13: Sore Legs, Plans of an Assassination, and a Kiss**

**Katniss**

I don't stop running.

I want to stop, but my legs seem to be paralyzed in the motion of sprinting.

I look behind me. The slowly greening forest is now far away. It won't be long when they find out about Glimmer. It won't be long before people start to become targets. Accused. Suspects.

It won't be long until Annie cracks.

**Peeta**

Of course, I was dazed. What else was I supposed to be? Katniss asked me out again. And now I had some frosting flowers to make. I walked toward the baking unit. I admired the cabinet full of edible decorations. Candy pearls, candy ribbon, figures, endless varieties of sprinkles. I could imagine how much fun a little girl would have here creating her dream cupcake.

I started to bake a large cupcake, starting with the batter. There were multiple sizes and shapes of muffin trays, so I found the largest one I could find. I didn't have to worry about the grime or dust, since I got rid of the broken stuff and cleaned everything else yesterday. I popped it in the oven and waited.

I cleaned out the art unit while the cupcake was being baked. The art unit was identical to the baking unit, minus the ovens. The cabinets were full of all the art supplies I could ever ask for. There was a walk-in closet stocked with different kinds of canvases and sketch pads. I just got rid of the pesky cobwebs that twelve-year-old girls are mortified by and walked back to the kitchen. I made a simple white frosting and carefully did the job. I made a big frosting flower at the top. I wish I could candy a real one, but it just wasn't the season.

**Katniss**

I want things to be normal. I don't want to be freaking out. I don't want to see the picture of beautiful Glimmer with blue lumps all over her flashing everywhere before my eyes. I wanted to be happy. I tried to. I really did. But I kept running.

I half expected to run into some fence that would tell me that this was Camp Panem's boundary. But all I did was run past cabin after cabin, unit after unit. Annie's cabin came into view and I stopped. For some reason, my legs decided to carry me to her door and for some reason my hand decided to knock. Annie opened the door. She looked at me with a sympathetic look.

"I killed her," I mumbled, moisture starting to come to my eyes.

"No, you didn't. It was an accident. Come in," Annie opened the door wider.

"No, it wasn't. It wasn't an accident. I hit that tracker-jacker nest on purpose," I argued, not accepting her welcome.

"Yes, but you only did it to protect me. And that's why I brought you along. Also, you didn't hit the nest to specifically murder her, and you didn't even know it was a tracker-jacker nest in the first place. So the whole thing was an accident," Annie shot back. She was smart and shy, probably from reading all of those books. And to this response I had nothing to say, because it was true. But I still couldn't fell better.

"Hey, Katniss, if you didn't do that she would have killed me," Annie said softly. "I wouldn't be talking to you." Again, I had nothing, but this made me feel a little bit better.

"Can you fill me in about all the war and Snow and stuff?" I found myself asking. I walked into her cabin once again. Hopefully, the riots would take my mind off of things.

"Well, the counties are kind of in silent protest. They refuse to do anything. They won't work. Nothing. But they're safe right now. It _will _get worse, because I know Snow will _have_ to send troops to punish them in whatever gory way he prefers. According to Plutarch Heavensbee, this is almost like teasing. They are daring Snow to finally make a move, and show himself," Annie reported.

"Why do the counties want Snow so much?" I questioned.

"So they can kill him," Annie said, her eyes sparkling with dangerousness. "They'll know where to attack, and when."

"I want to be a part of his death." My mouth seemed to have a mind of its own today.

"We all do. Finnick, Gale, Thresh, Johanna, and a bunch others want to do something. Some of us already have weapons," Annie said. "Katniss," her eyes turning serious, "we have to leave this place to do something. Will you come with us?"

"I don't know, Annie. I'll get back to you. I have to go now."

As I walked back to my cabin, I thought about how vast Camp Panem was. What would be our escape route? Where would we go? I tried to remember how I got there. I got here by hovercraft. I knew that campers arrived by the CPH, which stood for Camp Panem Hoverbus. It was basically a hovercraft that served as a bus.

So that meant there was not entrance for arriving by car, or foot.

And if there was no entrance, there was no exit.

**Peeta**

An seemingly angry (but magically healthier) Katniss stormed into the middle of some serious sprinkle placement. A familiar scenario. Katniss knocked the sprinkles out of my hand, like she did with my beer last night.

"Peeta, this is important."

"Guess you're not sick anymore," I looked down into her crisp grey eyes, a few inches away from mine. She backed up, and we weren't breathing the same air anymore.

"Seriously. Have you heard about Snow? About…about the revolution?"

Oh no. Katniss had found out about the riots. The politics. I knew about it for a long time, since I was a pretty good student. I've known it all. I wanted nothing to do with it, and I didn't want to risk my life for this stupid 'revolution.' I believe that the county people are obviously no match for Majesty officers and their extreme weaponry. But of course, I knew Katniss would think the exact opposite.

"I'd like to call it more like a battle. And a pointless one," I leaned on the counter behind me, folding my arms. It was quite chilly here with the oven now cooled.

"No, Peeta. This is… an uprising. A revolt. A…a rebellion. This is it, Peeta. We're not slaves under Majesty customs. We can be free," Katniss's eyes sparkled with the thought of it. She smiled at a blank space and a breeze from the window blew her hair. She was beautiful.

"We _are_ free."

"No, we're not," her eyes clouded, the signature scowl returning. "We work for them, not us. We're confined to our counties. Step out of line, and we get shot. If we win this thing, we don't have to do that. We can roam and have full stomachs and actually have something to smile about. Isn't that what you want?"

"We can't win this. Majesty has hovercraft with about a million different missiles, rockets, and bombs in them. Officers should be overflowing the streets in no time."

"That might be true," Katniss gave me a playful smirk. "But that's why we're going to be in it."

"No, Katniss-"

"Yes. And if you won't go, I'll go alone. After all, I'll have _Gale_ to watch my back," Katniss smirked.

"Alright," I sighed. "I'm in." I only agreed because I knew that we were only a bunch of teenagers that won't even get past the Camp Panem boundaries.

"Meeting tomorrow. I'll see you there."

"Wait!"

Katniss skidded to a halt and whipped her braid around.

"You're not telling me something," I said with caution. Katniss's jaw simply clenched and she turned her head back around, walking silently in her worn-out leather boots.

"Katniss, stop!"

I ran after her, even though my stump was swollen and it was probably terrible for it. Thankfully, I didn't have to run long since Katniss just kept at an angry march.

"Katniss, tell me. You have to-"

"I don't…I just…I just want to run away from it. I really do. The only thing that will get my mind off of this is the whole Snow mission, and there you go, reminding me all over again." Katniss wasn't mad, she was just talking in a quite defeated tone. I assumed that this wasn't the time to try to get something out of her, so I just hugged her. I surprised myself; it was just natural. Katniss didn't pull away, and the embrace lingered. I felt her small hand caress my cheek and I looked down, staring into her stone gaze.

"You help me forget," she whispered.

**Katniss**

I did it.

I pulled his face closer and kissed him. I had never kissed a boy before; I was all new to this. But it came so easily; our lips met and I felt the sparks flying. Soon there was nothing, just us.

Katniss and Peeta, Peeta and Katniss.

"I wish it could be like this forever; just summer. Away from the raging counties, away from the hell we come from. Camp Panem is an escape," I said, pulling away.

"An escape…" Peeta looked at me with awe. His eyes half-closed, his soft lips, his perfection; I couldn't be unsatisfied. He leaned in for more, but then he stopped, his eyes wide.

"_Plutarch._" Peeta mumbled loudly, with a blank expression, our moment washed away. "_Plutarch."_

"What?" I asked.

"Katniss, we need to talk," Peeta said.

"About what?"

"About…the war."

Peeta guided me to a bench where we sat down.

"Have you heard of a book called _President Snow: Hidden with Children _by Plutarch Heavensbee?" Peeta asked.

"I don't really read boo-"I remembered Annie's novel. "I saw Annie reading it, actually. She told me about it. The guy's mental, if you ask me."

"Exactly," Peeta smiled. "But he's not. He's a smart man; so smart that he acts as if his idea may not be true," Peeta explained.

"Hey, slow down. So you're saying that Plutarch Heavensbee is actually _right_? Snow would never voluntarily offer to be guarded with zero weapons and bombs, just hiding with a bunch of kids."

"Yeah, except he's just not hiding with kids. Plutarch Heavensbee _knows _what he's talking about. He has information that nobody can get their hands on. We don't know who he is, or what he does, let alone _where _he is. But we need to find out. If we're going to be involved, we need to find him. He knows something about Snow. I don't know, it sounds crazy, but I think this is all true," Peeta smiled.

I had Glimmer on my back. I had Snow, Gale, and Peeta. I had the blood of a murdering on my hands. I was caught up in a love triangle. I got myself into an all-out war. I signed myself up to assassinate the most powerful person in Panem.

I wish I had known that Annie was a smart girl.


End file.
